Professor Layton VS Athena Cykes: Ace Attorney
by feeni3 wright
Summary: 12 years from the Lost Future, Professor Layton receives a letter from an old friend, inviting him to the USA to solve an odd mystery. While there, he meets Athena Cykes, attorney at law. But when an international monument dissapears overnight, the Professor and Athena go up against Prosecutor Astrid Arbor in court. But who on earth is she? And just what is wrong with Luke Triton?
1. Prologue: Dear Professor Layton

**Okay, new story. I stopped the collection, to focus on this. This is going to be huge, I promise. At the end of some chapters, I give you a hint of the future of this story (At the bottom). If my maths is correct, which let's face it, it probably isn't, the timings of this should fit. Assuming Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright happened around Trials and Tribulations, this is set 12 years after the Lost Future, and 5 years after Dual Destinies, depending on which universe you think in. Alright, enjoy the prologue. And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **Feenie**

 **X**

 _Dear Professor Layton,_

 _It's been a while since we said goodbye. How have you been? As for me, I am having a lot of fun now, and I feel I've properly settled in now._

 _I'm writing to you because something deeply puzzling has happened here recently._

 _It seems like the sort of mystery that's tailor made for Professor Layton and his apprentice. I don't think anyone else could get to the bottom of it, even after all these years._

 _Because, you see…_

* * *

The night was fine once again. In the 12 years Luke had spent here, he came to believe he was truly integrated into life here. He loved the night sky, with different stars than in England. He loved the people, most of whom were the friendliest of all friends. He had even come to find love in the area.

Speaking of which…

He checked his watch once again. The dingy light of the streetlamps still cast a fierce glare into his eyes, but he could just make out the time. It read 10:37. She was late again. She had a habit of doing that. Even so…

Luke paced around a little. The thin river gushed on the other side of the park, throwing itself under the bridge, round the meander and out of sight, dead leaves and twigs floating gently across its path. This was his favourite park, ever since he was little. He used to go with his father and mother, and they would sit and laugh and he would have so much fun.

Those memories often brought tears to his eyes, and today was no exception. It had been nearly 4 years since his father had passed away, but a key part of his life had disappeared that he felt he could never really get back.

He shook his teardrops away and continued walking. He didn't live for sadness. He knew exactly what he lived for, and what he lived for was late.

At last, he saw a figure in the corner. He smiled and began to move towards it.

'There you are!' Luke called, smiling. 'You're late again.'

The figure said nothing.

Come to think of it, her hair wasn't. And… the figure was pale. Very pale, almost white.

Luke stopped and stared hard. It wasn't her, but somehow, he recognised the figure. Who on earth could it be?

It began to move, pacing itself at first, straight towards Luke. The figure was very recognisable, and yet it was distant, as if it was altered in some way.

Then, it dawned on Luke. It was…

'No.' Luke said, backing away slowly. 'You're dead. I saw you die!'

The figure remained silent and continued closer.

'How are you here? Are you-'Luke swallowed hard, 'A ghost?'

The figure stopped and stared blankly at Luke.

'What do you want?' Luke exclaimed.

It slowly raised its hand, reaching for Luke's face, as if it was testing, confirming.

This was too much for Luke. He turned around and ran across the bridge. He needed to leave now. Taking a quick look behind him, he saw that the figure had lowered its hand and was staring at him as blankly as ever. He turned back and ran past the emblazoned letters and out into the street.

There was no doubt in his mind. He had just seen a ghost

 _I can't come with any explanation for this. If anyone can, it's you, Professor. I await your reply. Please help me solve the case of Aurora's ghost!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Luke Triton._

 _Dear Luke Triton,_

* * *

 _I will be there in two days time. It's been a while, my boy._

 _Sincerely yours,_

 _Professor Hershel Layton._

* * *

 **Hint 1: Luke is the same age as his fiancé. Who could that be?**


	2. Union and Reunion (Part 1)

**Okay, new chapter. We get to meet Luke in this chapter, and find out who his fiancée is, although I suppose most of you already got it right. I really like this chapter for some reason, maybe because of the UK vs US car types argument. Anyway, any type of review is appreciated. PLEASE DO REVIEW THOUGH! I really need to know what you think of this, otherwise, I'll be forced to end the story.**

 **Ahem. Anyway, here is Chapter 1: Union and Reunion (Part 1)**

 **Feenie**

 **X**

* * *

The Professor never liked flights.

His tea juddered slightly, spilling a small splash over its rim. On the same token, the hat on his head wobbled slightly. He adjusted it and continued reading his book.

Sitting next to him was Flora. Despite being a grown woman now, she was jumpy and excited.

'Professor! I still can't believe we're going to America! This is incredible!'

The Professor laughed. He was nearly 50 now, but he still looked young, aside from the slight tinge of grey hairs he had on his head, which he neatly covered with his hat.

'Ha ha ha. Don't forget, though, Flora. We are going to investigate for Luke, remember?'

'Of course, Professor,' she said. 'But even so! Los Angeles! That's still really cool!'

She turned and gazed at the scenery outside of her window. It was a cloudless day, and beneath her she could see the fields below.

Meanwhile, the Professor thought. Imagine what Luke has done with his life. So many memories with each other, and so many more now.

He was getting old. For some reason, he was less enthusiastic about another adventure. Could this be his sign that he was too old for this?

He brushed the thoughts aside and took another swig of his tea. At that moment, the notice sound came on. A girl in an Irish accent spoke;

'Ladies and Gentlemen, the captain has now illuminated the seatbelt sign, so please put up your trays and prepare for descent.'

The Professor took one final swig of tea, then handed it back to the stewardess. He then continued with his book.

'Professor! We're nearly in America!' Flora said, gripping onto his arm.

* * *

They clambered off of the aeroplane and onto a little minibus. The Professor carried a large, heavy rucksack that Flora had chosen as hand luggage, Flora carried a book.

'Luke said he would meet us at our terminal. We should get going, the flight was delayed, so he'll be wondering where we are.' The Professor said to Flora.

'Right you are, Professor!' she said, as she stepped off the minibus. A group of stewardesses led them to passport control, then to baggage claim. Finally, they had their bags, so they walked down to the terminal.

In the lobby in the hotel, Flora expected to see Luke waiting right there for them. No one shaped or dressed like Luke was there.

'Well, it has been twelve years. Maybe he changed his style?'

They looked around. There were only a few people sitting on the plastic chairs. An old man with his dog. A ginger girl reading a book. A young boy. No one in his early twenties.

'Where on earth is Luke?' exclaimed Flora, loudly.

'Ssh, Flora, he'll be here somewhere. He did say he might be late.'

At that moment, the Professor felt a finger tap him on the back. He turned around. It was the ginger girl. She had now shut the book, holding her finger in the middle page. She was wearing a yellow suit, a blue tie, and a small gadget round her neck, on which a smile was shown on the screen.

'Hello!' she said, excitedly. 'Are you Professor Layton?' She had a thick American accent, which seemed very friendly.

The Professor nodded politely and smiled. 'That is me. Do you know Luke?'

'I do! I do know him. He asked me to come and get you. My name is Athena Cykes.'

'Oh!' said Flora, 'What a beautiful name! I'm Flora.'

'Nice to meet you!' Athena exclaimed.

A little robotic voice said out of nowhere, 'To meet you nice!'

The Professor jumped at this. 'Who was that?' said Flora, a little too enthusiastically.

'Erm… That was Widget.' Said Athena, awkwardly. 'It sometimes blurts out what I'm thinking.'

The device on her neck gave a little wink.

'Ooh, cool! Can I try?' Flora said, marvelling.

'Oh, sure!'

Athena lifted the device from her neck and handed it to Flora, who in turn placed it on her own. The screen lit up brightly, and a beaming face appeared on it.

'Wow, this is so cool!' Flora said, marvelling. 'Mega Hype!' the little device said in turn.

'Wow! That is exactly what I thinking, that is brilliant!' Flora was stunned as she handed it back to Athena.

'I must say, a remarkable piece of technology, Ms Cykes.' The Professor exclaimed. He too was interested and surprised by the advancement of computing this girl had.

Athena gushed. 'Aww, you guys are so kind. Okay, there's a taxi waiting outside, do you need a hand with any of your bags?'

'That's fine, Ms Cykes, we can manage them.' He said, and grabbed the handle of his suitcase, and readjusting the backpack.

'It's all right, you can call me Athena. Welcome to America!'

She ran to the automatic door of the terminal, and smiled as they flew open in front of her. Then she turned around, and presented it with jazz hands and a huge beam.

The Professor and Flora stepped through the door, with Athena following close behind them. Flora gasped. There were so many people! It was a lot warmer than in the UK, and the palm trees swung in the breeze. In the distance, she could see the blue horizon, decorated perfectly with skyscrapers. It was incredible.

'Err, guys?' Athena exclaimed. She stood by a large black car. 'We should be moving.'

'I want to go in the front!' exclaimed Flora. She ran around to the left hand side of the car and opened the door. The driver stared back at her as if she was mad.

'Erm, Flora, dear.' The Professor said quickly. 'We're in America, remember? The driver is on the left hand side of the car.'

Flora blushed and shut the door again. She then quickly ran round the other side and got in the front seat.

'I never knew that, Professor. Why do you have it on the right in England, then? Isn't it just really confusing when you go to other countries?' Athena asked the Professor.

'Ah, well there's a simple answer to that question…' He explained then stopped. Why on earth _do_ England have different car types?

'And that simple answer is?' Athena said expectantly.

'Um, I'll tell you later.' He exclaimed. They both got into the back seats of the car, and they drove away, with Flora wondering why he was driving on the wrong side of the road.

* * *

They finally arrived at Luke's house at around 10 o' clock at night, American time. It was dark, but Flora was loving every minute of it. They got out of the taxi.

Athena had probably texted ahead, because a figure was standing at the doorstep as they came up the path.

Athena called out to the figure. 'Luke? Is that you?' she yelled up the path

The figure moved and called back. 'Athena! You're back! And… are they here?'

Athena gave an okay signal and ran up the driveway to him, with Professor Layton and Flora following closely behind her.

When they got to him, the Professor could see his style hadn't changed much, apart from the fact that he wasn't wearing a hat, and didn't carry a briefcase. Other than that, he was just a taller version of the Luke the apprentice to Professor Layton.

'It's been a very long time, Professor.' Luke exclaimed. He had a calm and deep voice, with soothing tones to it.

'A very long time, my boy.' The Professor replied. They both shared a smile.

'And… Flora!' Luke exclaimed. They both beamed at each other.

'Thank you both for coming over, I hope you had a nice journey.'

'The plane ride wasn't great,' the Professor stated, 'but your friend was very helpful.'

Luke then turned to Athena. 'Thank you so much for looking after them, Thena.'

'Not a problem, Lukey!' she said, and then leaned upwards. They embraced firmly.

Flora grimaced slightly, and the Professor just adjusted his hat, with a slight look of surprise on his face. 'I didn't you two were a couple.' He said as they broke apart. 'I must say, you do go well together.

'Well, we were going to wait a little later to tell you this, but…'

'We're engaged!' exclaimed Athena.

'Ah! Luke, I'm so happy for you!' Flora said, going to hug him, in a friendly way.

The Professor smiled once more. 'You have my heartiest congratulations.'


	3. Union and Reunion (Part 2)

**Did you like the last chapter? I got a lot of alerts and faves for it, plus my first review, which I am completely Cyked about. (Cyked= Ace Attorney style psyched.) But, don't stop it there. Someone told me the last chapter ended on a bit of an anticlimax. If you want a cliffhanger, my god, in this chapter you get a cliffhanger. I won't say anymore. Please keep favouriting and reviewing, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **Oh, and to my guest reviewer. The only real pairing in this is Luke/Athena, and the story mainly revolves around it. I'm sorry if you don't like pairings, though, because most people do.**

 **Feenie**

 **X**

* * *

Flora slept like a log that night. Having got up early in the morning, and never having a chance to wake herself properly, like with a run or a couple of exercises, meant she was exhausted all through the day, and finally having a place to sleep was like heaven. (She could never sleep on planes.)

Luke and Athena's house was small-ish, but comfortable. There were two bedrooms upstairs, one for Luke and Athena, and one that had presented two beds for either of them to sleep in. There was also a bathroom and a short landing on that floor. Downstairs, there was a kitchen and a dining room in one, a living room, a toilet and a work study, which Luke and Athena now used for their respective jobs.

While Flora slept upstairs, Athena, Luke and the Professor talked in the living room, as they were not as able to get to sleep as Flora was.

'Luke, what do you do with yourself now?' The Professor asked. They had a lot to catch up on, before they discussed Luke's letter.

'Me?' Luke said, who had been silent for a while. 'At the moment, I work as a detective down at the local precinct, in Criminal Affairs. I've worked there for nearly three years now.'

Professor Layton was taken aback. 'That's impressive, Luke. You have achieved a lot since I last saw you. And as for you, Ms. Cykes?'

Athena blushed slightly and laughed. 'Seriously, just call me Athena, Professor. I don't mind.'

'Very well, Athena. What is your profession?' The Professor asked. It felt weird to him to call someone he had just met by their first name.

'I'm a local lawyer. I work at the Wright Anything Agency, with my boss and a couple of others around my age.'

'The 'Wright' Talent Agency?' The Professor asked, deep in thought. He turned to Luke. 'Is that-?'

'It is, Professor. Phoenix Wright.' Luke exclaimed, smiling slightly.

The Professor fell back onto the sofa. 'My word. I didn't know he was based in Los Angeles. How is he?'

'He is on good form, Professor. Unfortunately, he and his subordinate are currently out of town for a special case somewhere in Asia. Bad timing.'

'That is a shame. I would have liked to have caught up with him.'

'Oh, right, yeah, you worked with the boss on that Labyrinth-y case. Luke and the boss tell me about that one all the time.' Athena explained, a smile on her face that said it was one of 'those stories' that people tell you over and over.

The Professor smiled politely. He wasn't sure about Athena yet. She didn't seem like the right person for Luke, she was very nice, but he wasn't sure why Luke thought she was definitely the person he wanted to live with forever.

Luke stood up slowly. 'Alright, honey, I have to go to bed. I don't want to oversleep… again.'

'Alright, Lukey, I'll be up in a second.' Athena exclaimed quietly. They shared a quick kiss, then, Luke walked out of the room.

Athena stood up as well and took hers and Luke's mugs. 'Do you want me to take your cup, Professor?'

'Oh,' The Professor stumbled, having been in thought, 'Thank you. I think I may go up to bed as well, Ms Cykes.'

Athena turned to him at the doorway. 'You're doing it again, Professor. It's fine to call me Athena.'

'I apologise. But, nevertheless, I do feel very tired.'

'Of course, Professor.' She exclaimed. 'And don't worry about Luke. He'll be ready to talk about the case in the morning.'

'By the way, Athena, has he told you about this incident?' The Professor asked.

'All I know is he saw someone from his past as a 'ghost'. He doesn't like to talk about it that much. I assumed that was why he called you here.'

'Hm.' The Professor looked puzzled. 'Anyway, goodnight Athena. I hope you have a restful sleep.'

The Professor walked past the young ginger girl and towards the stairs.

Athena stared down the hall as he walked. She could tell the Professor was seriously worried about something, and she didn't need her mood matrix to tell.

The Professor slowly opened the bedroom door. Flora was asleep and snoring on the other side of the room. He tiptoed across the floor. Carefully, he slid himself underneath the covers of his own bed and sighed. It had been a long day, and he was tired.

But there was something that bothered him. Luke. He seemed cold, his personality has changed since he was little. It could just be nothing, but Luke was very different now. The Luke he knew would have been perfect for Athena, but this man was different.

Something had changed in Luke, and the Professor decided he was going to find out.

He wrote it down in his mystery log. So far, all it read was 'Luke's Letter' and 'Luke's Personality'.

He longed for this kind of thing. Discovering the hidden secrets, rather than marking 100 papers every other day.

* * *

Athena was the first one to wake up in the morning, closely followed by her partner. 'Good morning, Lukey.'

Luke's sleepy face twisted into a big smile, complete with a hand reaching up to rub his bleary eyes.

Athena slid back under the covers and snuggled up next to him. He felt her warm, comforting body against himself. He knew she was happy with him.

So what was wrong with him?

He shook off his worries and put his arms around her, shutting his eyes once more. And while they were both half-sleeping, they both smiled.

* * *

They were awoken again, along with the Professor, by Flora, who knocked on each of their doors, asking them to get up. It was 9:00.

Luke needed to get to the precinct. 'But I will be home early tonight, I promise. We can talk then.' He assured the Professor and Athena.

As he left, Athena shrugged. 'Well, if he's going to work, I suppose I could go down to the office and get some paperwork done.'

'In that case, Professor, we have time to do some sightseeing.' Flora said excitedly.

The Professor smiled. 'An excellent idea, Flora.'

'Oh, I don't mind showing you around the city, I can do the paperwork tomorrow if you like.'

'PAPERWORK STINKS!' Widget said excitedly from Athena's neck.

'No, Athena, it's quite alright. We can find our way.'

'Well, at least let me meet you guys for lunch at some point.' Athena exclaimed. 'There's a restaurant a mile down the road from here called 'Red Rivals'. The do the best steak. Shall we meet there at, say, 1-ish?'

'Okay!' Flora chirped before the Professor could turn down her offer.

'All right then! I'll head to work then. Hope you have fun around LA!' Athena grabbed a pair of keys and a small sling bag, and walked out of the door.

'Okay, Flora, shall we go?' The Professor exclaimed. He had never been to the USA, let alone Los Angeles. He was looking forward to seeing it.

'Yep! I'm ready.' Came his response

They walked out of the door into the bright American morning.

* * *

Athena reached her office at about 10:30, having stopped for a quick breakfast on the way. So she was surprised to see the door swung open when she put her key into it.

Burglary? No one else should be here. Phoenix and Apollo were out of the country. Maya didn't have a key. It was Saturday, So it would usually be closed.

Who on earth could have got into the office before her?

She shut the door silently. She was in the hallway, and someone was talking in the back room.

She grabbed the first object that came to hand. It wasn't difficult to pick out a heavy object underneath all the clutter in the room.

She had chosen a saucepan. Perfect. She lifted it behind her head and tentatively approached the door on the other side of the room.

Carefully she grabbed the handle and threw the door open, prepared to strike at any signs of an intruder.

So she was disappointed when she saw Trucy sitting on the sofa, talking to a man she hadn't seen before.

'Athena! Where the hell have you been? I thought we would have to turn this man down.' Trucy exclaimed, with an angry look in her eyes.

'Trucy... What day is it today?' Athena asked sarcastically.

'Do you think I'm stupid?' Trucy said. 'It's Saturd… Oh.'

'Exactly. We're supposed to be closed today.'

Trucy thought for a minute, then shook her head. 'Well, you're here now, so listen. We've got a case.'

* * *

Flora was incredibly excited. She didn't walk, she leapt, as she and the Professor approached the crowd of people hoping to see the famous 'HOLLYWOOD' sign.

She had only ever seen pictures, but it was probably the biggest monument she had ever caught sight on. Second was now probably the Tower of London.

The crowd seemed to be whispering to each other nervously. The Professor raised his eyebrow nervously. 'Hang on a second, Flora. Something seems to be wrong.'

'Wait. What? Why are we still here then?'

'What has happened to it?'

'Oh great. We come all this way…'

Those were the general mutters of the crowd. The Professor pushed his way through them. It wasn't his style, but he had to see what the problem was.

Finally, he reached the front rope and looked up at the huge mountain, where normally, Hollywood's most iconic attraction would stand normally.

He gasped.

The massive sign on the mountain, the sign of a thriving industry, the sign that highlighted Los Angeles for the rest of the world, was gone.


	4. Union and Reunion (Part 3)

**Hi everyone! So, I can gladly say that I have the entire story of this complete, and I'm trying to be modest, but it is epic. You are all going to love it to pieces when I finish it. But, for now, here is the next page of the story. In this chapter, we will meet old faces, but just what is wrong with Athena Cykes? Ah, well... You'll find out soon... Thank you very much to all reviewers. KEEP THEM COMING, THOUGH! I love them all. Here we go with the next chapter!**

 **Feenie**

 **X**

* * *

"A case?" Athena exclaimed. Over the years, she had taken on many cases, some strange and some obvious. It was something she was used to now.

"A case. That's right. Are you okay, Athena?" Trucy said, noticing the slight tremor in her voice. For an expert at psychology, she wasn't good at hiding fear.

"But we're supposed to be closed! I only came down here to finish the papers for the decapitation case!" Athena exclaimed. The man sitting on the other side of the room grimaced.

Athena turned to look at him for the first time. He had red hair flowing to his shoulders and a saddened face. He wore a small grey coat and a pair of jeans, along with a small flower complementing his get-up on his coat. He looked about 30.

She turned her attention back to Trucy, who looked cross. "You know our policy, Athena. We never turn down innocent people."

"Well… But… I mean, he…" Athena stammered. She looked across at the man. Staring back at her were some of the saddest eyes, clinging onto the ledge of hope. She felt awful.

She breathed in heavily. "Alright. I'll hear him out."

Trucy's face changed, as if by magic, into the perfect smile. "Thank you, Athena! I'll do a mini magic show later if you like."

Trucy was 21 now, but she hadn't changed much from her early days. She was more mature, but still completely addicted to her magic, and was now quite successful with it.

Athena gave a forced smile and sat down on the sofa. Trucy left the room, leaving a trail of playing cards on the floor as she went.

"So… what's your name, sir?" Athena exclaimed nervously.

The man steeled himself and turned to face her. "My name is Dunn Atlas. Thank you for considering my sister's case."

Athena tried her best reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure we can help out somehow."

* * *

"How could this happen?" Flora exclaimed, aghast. Something had caused this huge monument to vanish before the entire city!

Already, news vans were pulling up in the area, and cross-looking reporters and cameraman prepared the equipment. A wave of confusion and disorientation threw itself over the onlookers.

"This is… impossible!" The Professor exclaimed,

"Professor, we should ask someone who saw something." Flora said.

"Good idea."

They walked over to a female police detective, who was scribbling notes down onto her pad. She didn't react to them. Instead, she reached into her bag and grabbed a small, brown, stick-like object and popped it into her mouth.

"Ahem," The Professor coughed lightly. The detective didn't so much as blink. "Um, excuse me, miss."

The woman was either very hard at work, or very tetchy. Once again, she made no movement. Beside the Professor, Flora had been getting very cross.

"EXCUSE US! WE JUST HAVE A FEW QUES-"Flora yelled. She was cut off, because one of the objects the detective had been eating bounced off of her. Remnants of melted chocolate flecked across her forehead. The detective didn't look up.

"I did here you." She exclaimed. "And I'm very busy at the moment. I don't have the time to talk to passing individuals," she delved into her handbag again, fishing out more and more chocolate snacks.

"Erm, thank you." The Professor seemed annoyed, but he accepted it, and began to walk away. Unfortunately, Flora was furious now.

"No, I'm sorry, but you aren't doing anything." The girl exclaimed angrily. "I can read upside down. All you're writing in your notebook is the amount of time it takes you to eat each of your weird snack things! Now look at us and help us out for just a minute!"

The detective looked up, astounded. On her forehead, she balanced an interesting set of glasses, with pink lenses. "Excuse me." She exclaimed, emotionless. Then, as the Professor walked hastily back to Flora, she noticed the black and red hat perched on his head. "Oh… Are you…. Professor Layton?"

"Erm, yes, how did you know?" The Professor asked, bemused. He knew he had a reputation, but surely not one so large that it stretched to the other side of the world?

"Oh wow!" The woman said, beaming a huge grin. "Ema Skye, Chief Detective, Criminal Affairs Dept. Honestly, I have wanted to meet you for ages! Phoenix has told me everything about you."

"Oh, you are an acquaintance of Phoenix Wright? Forgive me, but he never mentioned you." The Professor said.

"We go way back! Anyway, he told me if I ever saw you, you could help out with anything."

The Professor blushed slightly at this, "Ah, well, possibly not anything, but…"

"Oh, but this perfect timing! Please, can you help us out? We have no evidence or leads."

"Oh, go on, Professor! It'll be fun! We haven't had a really weird case like this in years!" Flora elbowed the Professor as she encouraged him.

"Oh, well… Alright…" He said anxiously. He wasn't sure he was up to this anymore. This was exactly the kind of thing that led to trouble, and this would just distract him from Luke's request. Nevertheless, he was never one to turn down the request of anyone.

"Thank you!" Ema exclaimed, "…Wait. Before we let you investigate, can you first please solve this puzzle?"

Beside the Professor, Flora rolled her eyes.

* * *

It wasn't tremendous fun, ducking and swerving under humongous branches that could kill her in seconds, should they fall, but Athena completed the task nonetheless. She was standing in Dewer's Wood on the outskirts of the city. Also, she was in a very bad mood.

Athena Cykes did not like working on a Saturday.

Beyond her, Trucy was hopping over roots, and ducking under branches. Her hat bounced on her head as she ran.

"Come on, Athena! What's wrong with you today?" she called backwards.

Athena stopped and leant against the tree again. She was feeling slightly queasy, and waited a moment to endure a small rest.

Up ahead, they could hear the voices of grumpy policemen and detectives. She began walking again towards the scene.

On the ground lay a long piece of rope, outlining the silhouette of a short man. Next to it lay a knife, red with blood, and a single die. Inside of the rope, staining the outer parts of the body region, was a large brownish stain, the stain of dried blood.

In short, it wasn't the prettiest of scenes.

Athena grimaced slightly as she noted down the evidence. Then, across the area, she saw a familiar face. "Gumshoe!" she yelled. Most of the police officers seemed unaffected by this. However, from the very back, Dick Gumshoe strode through to her.

"Hey, its Chief Inspector Gumshoe to you, pal." The tall man said. He was wearing a large brown coat, and in the centre, he had carefully clipped and balanced a shiny golden badge with his rank on it.

"Yeah." Athena exclaimed sarcastically. "So, Gumshoe, how have you been doing with the case?"

"Not so good, pal." He sighed. "It looks like that girl did it, but we haven't got much evidence for anyone."

"Oh brilliant." Athena said. "Do you know who's going to be prosecutor tomorrow?"

"Of course, pal." Gumshoe exclaimed, with an upset look on his face. "It will be Prosecutor Arbor."

"Er, okay… Who's that?"

Gumshoe almost fell over. "You don't know who Prosecutor Arbor is?"

Athena shook her head, although she felt she had heard the name somewhere, in the back of her mind. She couldn't quite pinpoint where.

"Alright, let me explain." Gumshoe exclaimed, and sat down on a tree root. Athena knew that when Gumshoe sat down, she was going to be there for a long time, so she sat down as well.

"4 years ago, a man was killed in the courthouse. He was giving testimony at the time, and no one saw who or how it happened. One moment he was talking normally, the next, he lay on the floor. Apparently, he was poisoned, but no one heard or saw anything of use. Apart from one person, the girl who claimed to be the victim's daughter. She saw someone pour a liquid in his tea. DNA tests confirmed that she was indeed the victim's little girl. That girl's name was Astrid Arbor."

"I thought I had heard the name, maybe on the news or something"

"Yeah, well, ever since then, Astrid Arbor has been a prosecuting legend. She will pick away defendants one by one. But she's… different. She's not like Blackquill or Von Karma, or anyone like that. You'll see when you go to court tomorrow."

Athena was in a daze now. She wanted to take this woman on. She seemed like a really good challenge.

Is that what she thought of another case? A challenge?

"Hey, pal, you haven't got long. Visiting hours at the detention centre close for lunch soon. Have you met with your client?"

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Detective Gumshoe!" Athena exclaimed, brushing her thoughts aside.

"Hey! I'm Chief Inspector!" he called back, but Athena and Trucy had already left.

As they walked back through the woods, along the brown track, Trucy picked up on Athena's behaviour.

"Athena? Are you alright? You seem tense." Trucy said.

"Hmm? Yes, don't worry about me, I'm fine. Honestly."

But she wasn't fine. Something inside her gave her a bad feeling about Prosecutor Arbor. And also, she felt wrong. Like something in her life made her feel bad. She hadn't felt like this up until now, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. Very, very wrong.

* * *

 **Hint: Hmmm... Where else have we heard '4 years ago'? (I'm being as obvious as I can.)**


	5. Union and Reunion (Part 4)

**Hello all! Welcome to the end of the first chapter! To be honest, I'm glad I had the commitment to even get this far, and I'm looking to the first trial of the story. Thanks to all reviews, but never stop them coming, even if you hate the story to death, tell me in the reviews! I need your feedback. Okay, here's your next chapter!**

 **Feenie**

 **X**

* * *

"There you go, Ms. Skye. Is that sufficient?" The Professor said, handing the puzzle back to her. He had made light work of the problem, as if it was nothing at all

Ema's face was one of approval. "That's great, Professor. Now please follow me."

She lifted the police tape between them and the mountain walk. It wound around the tree lined path, angling slowly upwards, until it disappeared out of sight round the other side of the mountain. Ema walked through it, and began to march up the path. Flora and the Professor followed closely behind her.

As they walked, Ema briefed them. "There's a small village along the path. Most of the officers are using the hall there as a meeting room to discuss the case. The meeting starts at 12, so until then, I'm with you. If you need my help when you investigate, feel free to ask me anything."

"Ah, thank you, Ms. Skye." The Professor exclaimed. He adjusted his hat slightly.

The walk was not short, and Flora was quiet tired when they finally reached the top. Along the way, they had passed the village, only it wasn't so much a village, it had a couple of houses, a shop and a hall perched delicately on the hillside. She was sure there were some other houses round the back, there had to be, it couldn't be a village otherwise. But she made nothing of it and carried onwards.

When she did reach the top, the Professor was already snooping around. There wasn't much 'around' to snoop in, but he did it anyway. Where the huge letters were supposed to be, there was… nothing. Just a big patch of dirt. Ema was watching intently. Maybe she was taking notes, Flora couldn't quite see. She walked up to her.

"He does this." She exclaimed, startling Ema a little. "He looks where no one else does and finds something extraordinary,"

Ema marvelled, "That's amazing. I had heard stories from some, but I never thought he would actually be as incredible as he seemed. Apparently, I've proved myself wrong."

At that moment, the Professor gave a satisfied cry. "Aha!" He said aloud. "Flora, Ms Skye, come and see this."

Flora and Ema walked over to him. In his palm, he was clutching a small object, like a little necklace. It was supported by a silver chain, with a round object at the end, made of a golden substance. "What is it, Professor?" Ema asked, marvelling.

"I don't quite know." He exclaimed, fumbling around the chain and the round end. "It doesn't look decorative enough to be a simple necklace. But maybe if- ah!"

Something clicked, and the round shape flicked open. The Professor stared at the contents.

"What is it, Professor?" Flora asked. At that point, the Professor turned white. Flora had never seen his face do that before. It was like a ghost in a top hat.

He snapped it shut immediately. "It was empty," He exclaimed promptly,

"Are you okay?" Flora exclaimed. The Professor nodded hastily and smiled. She knew she had to believe him, but there was something in his smile and his words. It was… fear?

* * *

The detention was the same old thing. The weary guard in the corner, staring blankly into space. The tall partition made of glass, with a speaker on either end. It still felt as upsetting as ever. Athena entered it for possibly the hundredth time, having dropped Trucy off home first.

They sat down. The guard gave them a salute and called down the corridor. The door opened. Another guard walked in, followed by a mousey girl with ginger hair. She had no emotion on her face, like she was empty.

The girl sat down at the chair on the other side of the partition. She stared at Athena. Athena smiled back.

"Good afternoon!" Athena exclaimed, trying to keep a positive mood in the air. "My name is Athena Cykes, and-"

"Dunn sent you, did he not?" The girl exclaimed. Her voice was deeper than Athena had expected, but still feminine.

"Erm, yes. First things first, what is your na-"

"That will not be necessary." The girl interrupted again. "I don't need a defence attorney. I shall defend myself."

"Oh, so you are a defence attorney yourself, then?" Athena asked, trying hard to direct the subject away from the main line of conversation.

"No. I'm just very good at persuading." She explained. Athena caught, just for a split second, the girl's eyes becoming wider, as if in glee.

"Well, your brother specifically required my firm's assistance in this case. I hope you can just let me try to convince you."

The girl smiled wickedly. "Alright. You must convince me that you are the best attorney for my case. You have 5 useable words."

"5?" Athena yelled, shocked to her core.

"Starting from now." The girl began.

"But I-"Athena began, clamping her hands over her mouth.

"Three more words." The girl exclaimed. Athena noticed that she began to curl her hair around her fingers as she watched her struggle.

Athena thought hard. What 3 words could possibly help me out here?

"Wright." Athena said as her third word. The girl gave a small laugh.

"True, but why would I need the quality of Wright? Surely that just means I have to pay more."

Athena wasn't accepting into this little game. "But Arbor will-"

The girl held up her left hand. She was deep in though. "Your 5 words were as follows: But, I, Wright, But, Arbor."

Athena sighed and fell back into the chair. She was done for, and she knew it.

"Am I right in assuming that when you said Arbor, you meant Prosecutor Astrid Arbor?" The girl exclaimed. She was tugging on the very end of her hairline.

"Erm, yes… How did you know?"

The girl sighed and placed her hand around her chin. She was thinking hard. Somehow, the name Arbor had gotten her to change her position on the case.

Finally she spoke. "Yes." She exclaimed. "I want you to defend me in court."

Athena gawped. "What, for mentioning Arbor?"

The girl nodded back. "Think of it as a test. I assume you have faced her before?"

Athena shook her head. Before this morning, Astrid Arbor had just a faint headline from a very long time ago. Now she was getting her clients, and Athena hadn't even met her yet!

"I see. Well, do your best. By the way, my name is Bree Atlas. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Athena was gobsmacked by the entire conversation she had just had. "A-and you!"

* * *

Athena sat down at a chair in the restaurant. It was busier than she expected, but she kept remembering that it wasn't a working day for most people. She skim-read the menus, told the waiter that she was waiting for someone. He left her in peace, so she reached into her bag and pulled out the case file the policeman had given her at the scene of the crime.

The first page was quite standard. According to the record, the victim's name was Liam Hart, a close friend of the defendant. He was stabbed in the back during a walk with his friend at night in Dewer's Wood. However, what made it harder to take in was the fact that there were no witnesses. The defendant's fingerprints were found on the murder weapon, the knife, as well as an affidavit from the accused informing the court that she was indeed at the murder scene. Athena cursed her bad luck in clients for that.

After that, there were a few photographs of the deceased. Athena purposefully chose not to look at those, but she tucked one of the least gruesome into her evidence bag.

She shut the file and replaced it in her bag. Then, Athena sighed a Starbuck-style sigh, flopping backwards into her chair. This was a weird day. Yesterday, everything was perfect. Today, she was landed with a strange case with no witnesses and little to no evidence, and a defendant that just wasn't helping out at all.

"Athena!" Flora called, across the room. She and the Professor had just spotted the ginger girl, sitting on the other side of the room at a table for three. She smiled and waved back. Flora and the Professor sat down around the table.

"Have you heard about the sign" Flora asked, excited, but very nervous.

"No, what sign?" Athena replied.

The Professor coughed before Flora could answer. "Flora, dear, it appears that Athena does not know of the events. Athena, I'm afraid a strange occurrence has happened. I'm assuming you know of the large Hollywood sign on the hills outside of Los Angeles" He continued when Athena nodded. "It is gone. Something happened to it last night, and now it's gone."

Athena looked mystified. "Oh my god, how could that have happened?" She exclaimed. This kind of crime is… well, impossible!

"Indeed. But the detective in charge of the scene, a Ms. Ema Skye, allowed us access to investigate the area. We found no trace of it anywhere."

"Oh, yes." Athena said, "Yes, I know Ema. I assume she knew of you, then?"

"Yes, apparently she was informed by Mr Wright."

"Well, anyway, this is important as well!" Athena exclaimed, changing the subject. "I've got another murder case to deal with!"

The Professor and Flora were astounded. They listened as Athena told the whole story.

"And now, I have a trial tomorrow!" she finished.

The Professor nodded. "Sounds like a tough situation, Athena. We may drop in on the trial tomorrow."

Flora was getting agitated by the thought of a stabbing. "Um, can we just talk about something else, or maybe have some food, please?"

Athena and the Professor turned to her. Then, they nodded one after the other. "Of course."

But as they chatted and ate, mysteries were running through all of their minds. For Athena, it was who killed Liam Hart. For the Professor, it was what happened to the sign. And for Flora, it was why the Professor was lying.


	6. Union and Reunion (Part 5)

**Shorter chapter now, but powerful. Really powerful. We finally get to elaborate on the prologue. This is like the epilogue to the first chapter. And, I promise this is the last chapter of Union and Reunion. The next chapter, we will begin the trial sequence. And please review again. Thank you.**

 **Feenie.**

 **X**

* * *

"Nothing." Ema explained crossly. "Absolutely positively definitely nothing. We are stuck."

The Professor coughed politely. "Erm, are you sure that absolutely nobody found anything?"

Ema was getting very flustered. "Well, either they are very good at hiding it, or they dropped it. No leads, no evidence, no witnesses. Not a sausage."

It was late in the afternoon. The meeting was obviously long and painful, because Ema was chomping down biscuit after biscuit, saying they were 'too valuable' to throw at anyone. Apparently, she had missed lunch.

"Did you check the village?" Flora asked.

"We still haven't obtained a search warrant for the village." Ema explained. "But that is the only place that anything could possibly be. Otherwise, we are doomed to an immortal mystery."

"Are you serious? Do you not even have any idea at all?" Athena asked. She had packed up her work at the office, and was tagging along with the Professor and Flora before they headed back to her house.

Ema shook her head and sighed. "I think we may be here tomorrow."

The 4 of them stood in silence for a moment. The Professor punctured it.

"Well, thank you anyway, Ms. Skye. I hope to see you again soon." He said, a dejected look sat firmly on his face. Ema smiled sadly and walked off towards the crowd of officers.

Flora changed the subject. "Don't forget, Professor, we still have to talk to Luke. How do we keep forgetting? It's his mystery we need to solve."

The Professor smiled. "I didn't forget. Did you, Athena?"

Athena smiled back. "Wouldn't dream of it, Professor."

They both turned to Flora. Her face fell, and then she laughed. Flora was very good at laughing.

* * *

Athena produced her house key from nowhere. It glinted silver in the Professor's eyes as she thrust it into the lock. The door swung open.

There was a light on in the sitting room, and they each heard movements. At that moment, the door at the end of the corridor opened. Luke's familiar face peaked around it, smiling broadly.

"Hi again." He said, beaming. Athena walked over to him, and they embraced. The Professor and Flora followed awkwardly, as the party returned to the sitting room.

They sat, and chatted. About the Professor's work. About Athena's work. About Luke's apparently exhausting work. About Flora's part-time work. About the weather. Then back to Athena's work. And so on.

Finally, the subject turned to the thing on everyone's minds. Luke, Athena, Flora and the Professor all knew that it would come up eventually. They all felt it was too weird to bring it up directly. But eventually, Luke decided it was too much.

"Well, I suppose we should talk about my mystery, Professor"

The Professor swallowed lightly and resat himself.

"Yes, Luke." He exclaimed nervously. "I suppose we'd better had. What exactly happened?"

Luke sighed. "It was about a month ago, and I was walking in the local park. I think I was actually expecting to meet Athena. I don't remember it all too well. Anyway, I saw a figure about 100 metres away from me. It was a dark night, so I couldn't see them all too well."

"What time of night was it?" The Professor asked.

"Late, that's for sure. Around 10:30, 10:40 maybe. Anyway, the figure began to walk towards me. Slowly, but definitely towards me. I began to see them better. They seemed to be glowy, or somehow, emitting light. It was female. Somehow, she managed to get to me quicker than I could imagine, even though she was walking at such a slow pace. And at around 25 metres, I realised exactly who it was…"

The Professor nodded grimly. "Aurora."

Flora perked up suddenly. "But… Professor…. Isn't she dead?"

The Professor nodded back at her. Mentioning her name brought back many painful memories. Like Sycamore, or Bronev or….

He dared not dredge up past tragedies. There was no time like the present, a friend had told him. Perhaps the present here was too painful.

"It was her. I would recognise her absolutely anywhere," Luke continued. "And when she got to me, she reached for my face. She touched my cheek, but I felt nothing. She was simply… not there, and there at the same time."

Athena was getting fidgety. Luke had told her of Aurora before. But now she was back…

"I ran. I ran away. I was scared. She couldn't exist, she just couldn't," He exclaimed. A tiny tear surfaced in his eye, and ran slowly down his cheek, before dripping off onto his sleeve.

"I need to know. Professor. Find out what is happening, and how Aurora is here. I need one explanation. Please!"

Luke was breaking down. Aurora had been someone very dear to him and he obviously had to fight for this explanation.

Athena stepped in before the Professor had time to speak. "Lukey, you should go to bed. You're obviously really stressed out, y'know?"

Luke steeled himself. "Of course." He did not look at anyone as he left the room with his fiancé.

The Professor and Flora sat in stunned silence for a while. It didn't feel appropriate to talk. They were just thinking. He knew something bad would come of this. But he couldn't deny Luke's request, especially not after he had opened up to them like that.

Eventually, Athena came back down. "He says he's had a long day and he's going to get an early night."

Flora looked at her watch, which she had remembered to set to American time. It read 8:34. "Very early." She muttered.

"Do you think he's okay, I've never seen him like this." The Professor asked. "And you're the only person who knows Luke better than his parents, or me."

He then remembered. "Oh, yes, of course, I forgot, how are his parents? They are old friends of mine."

Athena swallowed. "Well, Brenda is great. She lives in the inner city."

The Professor prompted her. "And… I assume Clark lives with her."

She knew this was coming. She bowed her head. "Well, I didn't want to be the one who had to say this, but… Luke's father is… dead."

The Professor was afraid of those words. He really didn't want them to be true. But he couldn't hide from it.

"I'm sorry." Was all Athena could think of to say.

The Professor didn't speak. He stared into the middle distance for a while. Then, he got up and walked to the door. "I shall retire early tonight. Goodnight, Athena. Goodnight, Flora."

He left.

Flora and Athena said nothing.


	7. The Wooded Turnabout (Part 1)

**New chapter, new section, new trial! Yes, here we see the first elements of trial sequences in the story, as well as meeting a character we've been building up to for a long time. I won't say too much now, but I can ask you to PLEASE REVIEW, as always. See you soon, all!**

 **Feenie**

 **X**

* * *

Athena Cykes entered the courthouse on that day, feeling glum.

Glum. Trucy didn't bother to show up, because it was Sunday, so that meant she spent the day with her boyfriend. She had got little sleep in the night. Luke would toss and turn frequently. The Professor and Flora were out investigating the park or somewhere. And somehow, with no support whatsoever, she would go up against Prosecutor Arbor, whoever that was.

The bailiff held the door for her as she walked into the defendant's lobby. It was bright, and there were a few couches and pot plants to make it seem friendlier. A picture of the Judge sat up on the wall, ever so slightly off balance. Fitting, Athena thought.

Bree was sitting on one of the sofas, flicking through a small pocket book. How she got hold of it in the detention centre, Athena would never know. When she saw Athena come in, she shut the book, placed into her pocket and stood up, a mischievous smile on her face.

"You're going to lose." She exclaimed.

Athena was hurt by this comment, "You can't say that yet."

"Yes I can." Bree said confidently, "You're going up against Arbor. No one leaves an Arbor trial victorious."

"There's a first for everything." Athena retorted. Bree's smile faded.

"Well, good luck, anyway. It's of no relevance to me, anyway."

She sat back down. Athena's mind screamed furiously at how relaxed this girl was, as if this trial had no effect on her.

"Um… Thena…" said a timid voice. Athena spun round. She recognised the black hair and sunflowers instantly.

"Junie!" She exclaimed, perhaps too loudly. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. I heard about your case, and I'd thought I'd come down to cheer you on." Juniper exclaimed, smiling. "Um… Here."

She produced a green, bumpy fruit from her bag. It had rough skin, looking a bit like an artichoke.

"It's a cherimoya," She explained, handing it to her friend. "It's really delicious, it tastes tropical, and it's really smooth."

Athena took a large bite and almost dropped it out of her mouth. "Oh wow!" She called, her mouth full. "It's like pineapple custard! Thank you, Junie!"

"N-no problem, Thena." She replied. "When does the trial start?"

"Pretty much now, but I doubt this is a trial I can win."

Juniper looked upset for her friend. "Oh? Why?" She asked.

Athena sighed. "Because there is this weird new prosecutor woman, and I've got no one up there to support me."

They both shared a moment of solace, before Juniper's mind clicked. "Hey, I'll come up with you."

"You would?" Athena asked, relieved.

"Sure! It'll be fun!" Juniper claimed.

At that moment, the bailiff called them for the trial. Bree stood and left for the defendant's chair.

"Come on then, Thena. Big trial." Juniper said.

Athena was feeling a bit better now. A friend had come to her aid. Juniper had only ever judged one trial, but this would give her a chance at defending.

Athena followed after her friend, into the awaiting courtroom.

* * *

The gallery was buzzing more than any case Athena had done before. The Judge was ambling slowly from his chambers to the stand presiding over the court. The prosecutor's bench remains empty.

Juniper was very excited and very nervous at the same time. She sat next to Athena and fiddle with her braids.

Meanwhile, Athena was ambivalent. Where was this prosecutor and how could they be so difficult to defeat?

Finally, the judge called order.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Brianna Atlas. Is the defence ready?"

Athena tried to be cheerful. "As always, your honor."

"And the prosecution… is not here?" The judge exclaimed. "Bailiff, where is Ms. Arbor?" The bailiff shrugged.

"Well," The Judge said. "I suppose under these circumstances, I should declare a-"

"That won't be needed, your honor."

Athena jumped at this. It was a floating, lilting voice, almost like birdsong. The entire court turned to the origin of it.

Standing at the doors was an average sized, brown haired woman, wearing a long purple dress and perfect red shoes. In her hair, she wore a perfect red rose. Athena could tell that Athena was already not a fan of this woman.

She walked slowly to the prosecution bench. The room was filled with people chatting with each other, in and out, about the woman.

"Hello, all. My name is Astrid Arbor. A pleasure to meet you all." She exclaimed. She bore the same perfect smile, but her words didn't seem genuine. "Of course, the prosecution is ready." She did a little curtsy at this.

Athena and Juniper both secretly decided that they really did not like her.

"Ahem… Prosecution, perhaps you would like to give your opening statement?"

"Your honor, maybe you are being favouritist," She explained. "Perhaps you could let the defence do it for once?"

She smiled over to the defence bench.

Athena frowned back at her. Somehow, her voice sounded like she was singing, yet she had no emotion at all.

"Oh, yes, of course." The Judge exclaimed, flustered. "Ms. Cykes, would you like give us an opening statement?"

Athena wanted to say no, but somehow, she didn't think that would go down too well. "Err, fine."

Arbor beamed at her, as if she was the ray of sunshine the world needed.

"Ah-hem." Athena called, flicking roughly through the court record. "The case occurred two days ago, at night, following a party between friends. At 1:00 in the morning, the police received a phone call from Ms. Atlas, saying that her friend had been murdered. When they arrived at the scene, they discovered the scene. The victim was a Mr Liam Hart, aged 24. Bree Atlas stayed with him, holding the knife as she sat next to him. Evidence found a-"

"The rest is irrelevant." Arbor interrupted. "I know you haven't done many opening statements before, but please make sure you don't waste the court's time."

The Judge felt this was a moment to regain power over the court. Unfortunately, it was only at the expense of Athena. "Yes, Ms Cykes. I'm afraid I'm going to have to penalize you."

What? That was completely unfair! Somehow, she had just been penalized for doing her first opening statement. This was not good.

"However, you raised a good point, Ms. Cykes." Arbor continued. "The victim remained at the crime scene. There was no one else there. I ordered a personal investigation of the area, and there was absolutely no possibility of any intruder in or around the crime scene, as all of the leaves were perfectly arranged on the ground, with no scuff marks. The only way this hypothetical intruder could ever come to murder this man is on the path. And, only two people walked down that path that night, the only possible perpetrator is the one Mr Hart travelled with. This is the conclusion I have come to."

The gallery murmured a little. Of course, most of them were already on the side of the prosecution, but now there was not a soul supporting Athena. She turned to Juniper, who smiled at her weakly.

"Ah, right. That is very clever, Ms. Arbor." The Judge added. "Ms Cykes, do you have a rebuttal to this?"

Athena jumped when she heard her name. She had been in a daze. "Erm, no… your honor."

"Oh, well, in that case, I am prepared to hand my verdict down now." The Judge exclaimed.

Athena was completely unprepared for this. How could Arbor manipulate everyone like that? This could not be happening. There wasn't anyone here who could get her out of this now!

"WAIT A MINUTE!" came an objection.

It was Arbor. She held up her forefinger. "Wait a minute, your honor. Let's be sporting. I haven't quite finished my final argument yet, after all, I have yet to call my witness."

"Oh, right." The Judge sighed and frowned at Athena. It was clear what side he was on here. He turned back to Arbor. "Please, call your first witness, Ms. Arbor."

She curtseyed. "With pleasure, your honor. I call Chief Inspector Dick Gumshoe to the witness stand."

There were a few moments of hustle, before Gumshoe presented himself at the witness stand. He looked down, but that was just his normal face. Arbor would have prepared his testimony a lot.

"My name is Dick-"

"No need for that, Mr Gumshoe." Arbor explained. "I already said it just a moment ago. Please pay more attention to detail in future, Mr Gumshoe."

"Yes, sir, but I am Chief Inspector Gumshoe. Can you call me that?" He asked hopefully.

Suddenly, for the first time, Arbor's smile faded. "Don't tell me what to do, Gumshoe."

Her look was so stern and so cross, Gumshoe clammed up immediately.

So this was the real Astrid Arbor.


	8. The Wooded Turnabout (Part 2)

**Oh. My. God. Trials are so unbelievably boring to write about. Cross examination, prosecutor, judge, witness. I think after this case, I might make this an investigation only story because otherwise I will just get bored and forget about the whole thing. But on a lighter note, I actually added a chapter after a long period of time! Please review, and I'll see you soon!**

 **Feenie**

 **X**

Arbor began to smile again, and Gumshoe stood upright once more.

"Erm, okay sir…" He replied very nervously.

The Judge, who was feeling very uncomfortable, coughed himself into the conversation. "Ahem…" He said, making a pathetic attempt at a false cough.

Arbor turned to him. She was beaming again, but again, the look on the rest of her face looked almost false.

The Judge gulped and turned to the defence. Juniper gave him a nervous little smile.

"Let's all just calm down." He exclaimed. "Perhaps a testimony would do?"

Arbor nodded in response. "Of course." She replied, turning back to Gumshoe. "Your testimony, if you wouldn't mind." Athena grimaced silently to herself.

Gumshoe cleared his throat and began to detail the police account. "Well, the crime occurred late at night in Dewer's Wood. A man was stabbed to death along the forest pathway. He wasn't alone, the defendant was with him. There wasn't much evidence, but no one else could have come through the forest."

"Many thanks, Mr Gumshoe." Arbor exclaimed, although she didn't seem to be listening. "And now, Ms Cykes, you are welcome to cross examine the witness, should you wish."

"That hurt, Ms. Arbor," Athena was feeling courageous. "Of course I should cross examine the witness. It was wrong of you to suggest that I may wish not to. That's not my job."

There was silence. It felt like for a few moments, the world stopped turning to recall at what Athena said.

Then the gallery started whispering. People who never knew each other before were talking about Athena like she was rebellious.

"She defied Prosecutor Arbor? No one defies Prosecutor Arbor."

"I only came to an Arbor trial so I could leave early… Damn you, defence."

"Mom, is the psyche lady evil?"

The judge smashed his gavel three times, with a slight sense of pride at being the one who successfully restored order.

Athena half expected him to swoop in and penalize her, but he was instead looking straight at her.

"I apologize." She exclaimed. Her beam could almost kill someone, it was so bright.

No one said anything.

She continued, "I sincerely apologize for undermining your confidence and making you feel weak. Let me inform you now, it will _never_ happen again."

And she smiled again.

It was ten minutes into the trial, and Athena already hated the hell out of this woman.

"Ahem…" The Judge said towards the glaring battle between the defence and the prosecution. "Defence, cross examine the witness before we start another argument."

Athena backed down. "Of course, your honour." She exclaimed. "Please repeat your testimony, Detective."

Gumshoe had given up on getting people to call him by his proper title. He sighed. "Right away, sir."

"Well, the crime occurred late at night in Dewer's Wood."

Athena pressed his statement. "What was the crime in detail?"

Gumshoe looked puzzled. "Um… give me a second, sir, and I'll move on to that."

He continued. "A man was stabbed to death on a forest pathway."

Athena pressed on this again, "Whereabouts was he stabbed, Detective?"

"In the back, pal, while he was walking."

Juniper winced, but Athena continued. "Couldn't someone just have followed them?"

"Sorry, pal, but that's not possible. You see-"

HOLD IT! Came a cry. It was Arbor. The cry was mellow, and yet threatening. "Detective, remember our discussion?"

"Oh yes…" Gumshoe exclaimed nervously, "Sorry, sir. I'll move on."

The judge agreed. "Sustained."

Juniper was shocked. "She just obstructed his testimony! That's not allowed… is it, Thena?"

Athena shook her head. "It's happened before, Junie. There's nothing we can do."

Juniper sighed, twirling a knitting needle in her hand. From where she produced her balls of wool and needles, Athena had absolutely no idea. A mystery. Perhaps never to be solved.

Gumshoe continued, "He wasn't alone, the defendant was with him."

Athena felt confident. "How can you prove that, detective?"

Gumshoe almost jumped with glee. "Footprints of the defendants were found along the track along with the victims. The witness account states that defendant was there. And the defendant herself has admitted as much."

Athena's face fell. Low. Very low. "Um… Okay, continue."

"There wasn't much evidence, but no one else could have come through the forest."

This was the final statement. Athena could find no more evidence to throw at the detective. "I dread to ask this, but… How could no one else have come through the forest?"

"Footprints, Ms Cykes." Arbor interrupted, before Gumshoe had time to answer. "Only the defendants and the victim's footprints were found at the scene."

"And no others in the surrounding area?

"If I may say so," She replied, "Not a sausage. Although the forest was extensively searched through and through, although in the leafy area, any tracks could have been covered.

"Thank you, detective." She continued. "Now you may continue with your work."

Gumshoe gave a sad little salute and left.

There was silence in the courtroom.

The judge was nervous. "Umm, Ms Arbor, would you like to call another witness?"

Arbor produced a pocket watch. "I'm just waiting for a minute or two. I want to see if the defence changes its plea."

Athena was shocked by this. This women! She could manipulate anyone! How could she say things like this and get away with it!

… But this case seemed hopeless. How could it have been anyone else?

OBJECTION!

There was silence. Athena, the judge and Arbor all frowned in confusion. "Would the objector like to grace us with their presence?" Arbor murmured.

"I'm already here." Juniper exclaimed. She had a look in her eyes. Athena hadn't seen it much before. It was anger.

"Oh? The defence wishes to suggest how it can turn this case around?"

"No. The defence wishes to file a complaint against Prosecutor Astrid Arbor." Juniper said confidently.

"Juniper!" Athena hissed. She was quickly shushed away.

"A complaint, you say?" the Prosecutor said. "On what grounds?"

"On the grounds of mental harassment. Evidence? I quote, 'I am waiting for the defence to change its plea.'"

There was another pause. "I'm sorry, Ms. Arbor, but she's right. I am going to have to penalize you."

Arbor flinched momentarily.

"However, for your outburst, I will have to hold you in contempt of court, Ms. Woods."

Juniper coughed and sat down again. "There you go, Thena. You've got her at a low point."

Athena said nothing. She was still astounded by the performance Juniper had just given. She could almost applaud.

Arbor was visibly flustered. "Yes, well, I wish to call my next witness."

Athena watched as Juniper was walked from the room to a cell. She almost wanted to join her.


End file.
